The present invention relates to data storage systems.
A data storage system allows one or more client devices (“clients”) to access (i.e., read and/or write) data on the data storage system through a host device (“host”), such as a file server, that is physically separate from the client. The clients typically communicate with the host over a network, such as a local area network, wide area network, virtual private network, or point-to-point connection. The host typically is connected to one or more storage devices directly or over a network, such as a storage area network (SAN). A storage device can be, for example, a disk, a tape, a solid-state memory storage device, or an array of disks or tapes. Some data storage systems include two or more hosts. Multiple hosts can be clustered such that two or more hosts are connected to each storage device for increased fault tolerance.
Software sizing tools are computer program applications that help a system architect or administrator decide how much data storage a given computer system requires based on such variables as the number of users the computer system has and how that storage should be structured (e.g., how many hosts and what type of reliability options should be used). Software capacity planning tools, which can be part of or separate from sizing tools, are computer program applications that allow the system architect to analyze the performance of various configurations of data storage equipment. A conventional software sizing or capacity planning tool typically must be replaced by a newer version of the tool when new hardware (e.g., a new type of disk array) becomes available. When multiple sizing or capacity planning tools are used in conjunction (e.g., a tool for sizing a storage system for a database application program and a tool for sizing the storage system for an e-mail application program), inconsistent results can occur, especially when the tools use different underlying models that calculate suggested configurations based on the inputs. Using multiple sizing or capacity planning tools also is cumbersome because each tool typically has a different input format for the system requirements and recommendations are output in different formats as well.